Over the last few hours, a slew of celebrities have taken it upon themselves to call out the Indian government amid the ongoing farmers protests on Delhi's borders. What began with a tweet by pop music icon Rihanna last night has now escalated to include countless others - including activist Greta Thunberg, vlogger Amanda Cerny and even US VP Kamala Harris' niece Meena.
As the social media posts continued, the farmers protest has also become the only topic Twitter users seem to be dissecting at present. Social media users appear to have divided themselves into two camps. There are some who are seemingly overjoyed at this show of support, and others who are convinced that these are paid posts from people who have no business commenting on Indian affairs. But when it comes to American media personality and former pornographic actor Mia Khalifa, the internet seems to be a tad unsure.
For those not following the topic, Khalifa has lent support to the farmers movement, calling out the Indian administration's recent efforts to control the situation by means of an ongoing internet shutdown in some of the areas surrounding Delhi.
"What in the human rights violations is going on?! They cut the internet around New Delhi?! #FarmersProtest" she had tweeted sharing an image.
Seemingly responding to criticism, she followed this up with a second tweet, this time mocking allegations about "paid actors".
"Quite the casting director, I hope they’re not overlooked during awards season. I stand with the farmers," she reiterated.
Now, in case this is a name you're unfamiliar with, Khalifa is a Lebanese-American who became immensely popular on pornographic platforms after venturing into the adult film industry in 2014. While her sojourn was brief, she has faced immense backlash from religious figures, even as others continue to devour content involving her. She had even made headlines after being threatened by ISIS.
Over the years, Khalifa has taken efforts to distance herself, working for some time as a paralegal and bookkeeper before eventually becoming a social media personality, webcam model and sports commentator. "I was involved in porn so briefly, but my actions spread like wildfire, and I continue to be ranked (truly baffles me) 5 years after leaving the industry," she had said in an earlier Twitter post. The difficulty of finding a normal job after quitting porn was, in her words, "scary".
Nonetheless, attempts to shame her for being a porn star are nothing new. Khalifa's Twitter account has often been the focus of netizens' ire - be it a reaction to posts about various current issues or an update from her life. Today was no exception. Soon after her posts went viral, Khalifa was facing hundreds of wisecracks about her career choices.
"Greta I knew, but I had to google to find out who this Mia Khalifa is. Now I am worried Google is going to bombard me with targeted ads of her," tweeted author and columnist Anand Ranganathan.
Now, to be fair, not all who are criticising the posts have felt the need to remark on Khalifa's career. Indeed some are far more outraged about the fact that she is a foreign personality, or that her tweet had come in tandem with that of Rihanna, Greta Thunberg and others.
